Arsene Wenger shares his plans on making India a footballing superpower

The former Arsenal coach is on a three-day visit to the country and he even witnessed the FIFA World Cup Qualifier between India and Qatar.

Arsene Wenger has stressed on the fact that India need to equip upcoming players between the age of 5 and 15 with the best possible technical skills in order to find their footing in world football. The former Arsenal manager is currently visiting the country along with his team from the FIFA Talent Development Scheme.

He believes that technique is inherent and fundamental and needs to be the first thing ingrained in young players. As a result, the age group of 5-15 is crucial for this kind of development.

“What will football be like in 2030? How can we imagine what our needed quality is in 2030? But what is for sure, is where we start with technique,” Wenger said.

“Football is a technical sport. We have to equip the players from five to 15 with the best possible capacity to be technically at the top. That means, basically, to make it simple, is to make the ball his friend. The rest can be developed later. And this is absolutely vital.”

Before his high-profile move to Arsenal where he spent 22 seasons and won several titles including three Premier Leagues and seven FA Cups, Wenger managed a club called Nagoya Grampus in Japan between 1994 and 1996. Back then, Japan hadn’t even been to the FIFA World Cup.

The island nation from Asia made their first appearance at the prestigious tournament in 1998, they co-hosted the competition with South Korea in 2002, and have been a regular feature at that stage ever since. Japan have also been very competitive in the World Cup and have secured some famous victories, including the one over then-world champions Germany in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

“I was in Japan at the start of their football in 1995. In 1998, they were at the World Cup. So that means it is possible. You have to start early,” he said.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) said that Wenger had interacted with the heads of a select group of football academies from across the country and the Frenchman was left with the impression that there is a “gold mine” of football talent India which only needs to be tapped. Doing so will allow them to dominate the world stage more significantly.

“My target is to improve football in the world. And it is impossible that a country like India, 1.4 billion, is not on the football world map,” the 74-year-old said. “My main target here is to convince people that there is a gold mine here, but at the moment it is not completely explored, exploited, and encouraged.

“I believe you have huge assets, and fantastic qualities that make me very optimistic about what you can do here. It is absolutely fantastic to have that opportunity. And with my team, we are really highly motivated to help this country develop in the game. I’m convinced that it’s possible in the very short term.”